Granny’s Grocery Getter: 1970 Chevrolet Nova
This 1970 Chevy Nova has been named “Grannys Grocery Getter” by the seller. They have done quite a bit of work on it and it is a complete sleeper. With quite a number of bids, the price is currently $17,172 with no reserve. It is located in Goode, Virginia, which is located near Lynchburg. They have a VIN listed, clear title, and 52,885 claimed miles. There is more information about this unassuming ride here on eBay.
Originally starting out life as an inline 6 cylinder car, the current owners installed a rebuilt 396 cubic inch V8 under the hood and connected it to a 4-speed Muncie manual transmission. Since the engine install in 2018, the sellers have put quite a few thousand miles on it and claim that it is incredibly reliable. They have done a lot of work on the underside of the car as well and they have provided photos of that work.
Inside, there is a tachometer on the steering column that sticks out as unoriginal, and there are some aftermarket gauges just above the transmission tunnel. Other than that, the interior is incredibly nice. The sellers note that all the gauges work along with the electrical components. There is an aftermarket stereo system installed. The sellers also note that some trim pieces have been found and installed since photos were taken.
There are some points of information that seem a little fuzzy within the listing. You will want to make sure you get some of those ironed out before you purchase this car. The pictures of the car do show a lot of great qualities and it is probably in the condition as it sits, but you’ll still want to make sure. It might not look the best, but do you think that the price of this super sleeper is worth it?
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Comments
Put a 307 badge on it and fool some people 🚦🏎
I agree, or maybe even lose the badges altogether! I really like this one!
Hm, I can’t remember if this would have originally worn “250” badges, but the builder killed the whole “sleeper” deal with the 396.
My 1970, 6 cylinder Nova did not come with emblems calling out the engine size.
Steve R
Same here. Back in the late 90’s I had a cream 70 Nova 2 dr. With a 250 and 3ott. I still kick myself for getting rid of it! I paid $900, did a few repairs and sold it for $3k. Now it would be worth 5 times that much!
I built this car with a fresh 396/375 hp engine, 4 speed Muncie and 3 inch exhaust. I took the 250 badges off the car because I wanted it to appear to be an original 396 car Grandma would have driven.
If this was the very rare nova with the 4!! cylinder, not sure if it got an emblem for THAT motor. lol
I would imagine people even back in the 60’s would do a double take if they saw a ’67-9 camaro & saw RS or Rally Sport emblems AND a 250 emblem on the front fender. Not sure if the 230 got an emblem on any 1st gen. Nor if ANYONE ordered a ’69 RS with either 6!
Back then, if u were on a budget, u got a non RS 1st gen camaro with a 6. If u had more money, you would be out of your mind not to pick a non RS v8 camaro over an RS one with a 6. & if you had more money, you would get the v8 & RS pkg.
Had a guy around our neighborhood with a ground pounding Fox Body Mustang with the 2.8 badges on it !! Love it.
One question I’d have is, all that work; why sell it? Sounds like the seller took alot of time to make this look right–patina’d paint–even on the tunnel ram hood. I’d make sure to check that rebuilt 396 over real good; a problem with it could be the reason for the sale. Caveat emptor.
Even with no badges on, when that big block rumbles up next to you, sleeper does not enter your mind.
AS mentioned, I’d lose the 396 emblems, and also the cowl hood. While I like the cowl hood, it is on virtually every Chevrolet these days it seems. A flat hood would complete the granny look.
It’s a nice car without the cowl hood.It looks like they tried to ‘fake’ patina the hood to match. Although the word gets thrown around a lot the ‘patina’ on this one is kinda nice- Hope they kept the original hood .
Nicely one, clean engine bay. Sweet car.
The trailer hitch is a nice touch.
Wow that’s a ton of money for a 6cyl car with a nice drive train in it.
I see a lot of rust underneath on important parts. The shocks look rusted. I wonder why they didn’t replace them? Also, a lot of the rusty areas underneath look to just be sprayed over with paint.
Back in the ’80s, I had a ’70 Nova SS with an L78 375hp 396. If this one was mine, I’d finish it just like the one I had. I’d take off all the trim on the sides, pull the rear quarters out a bit for 60 series tires, paint the car white, get rid of that hood for an SS hood and put original-style 5-spoke wheels on it. Buckets and console inside, too. Then it would be just like my old Nova SS.
I’ve had a few good cars back in the day but that Nova is one I really miss.
Yeah that’s cool..first car was a 69 Nova,paid 600 bucks for it in 1988.This car has some good potential for sure will be fun to own it.
I like the poverty caps, nice touch!
Lose the emblems, widen the steelies so you can keep the dog dishes and a bit more rubber for the rear. White vinyl roof? What the hell were we thinking back then?
It’s not vinyl, it is paint. May cars were bought with a two-tone paint back then, used the same type of trim to separate the paint colors.
No it is Not paint, it most definitely IS vinyl. Although it was common to paint the roof on a lot of cars in the 60’s and 70’s, this one has the vinyl roof.
Look closely at thee roof, there is no seam that is quite visible in vinyl tops on both sides apparent. The seams, actually folded vinyl run parallel more or less to the drip rails, front to back. There are rust stains in several areas and while rust stains could drip down onto vinyl, rust certainly would not creep up onto the vinyl… check the roof at the rear window, upper right side… rust on the paint. Check the passenger side photo just above the vent window, rust stains again. Look at another photo where the roof has a consistent, flat texture, just like old paint that hasn’t been buffed. The ebay photo’s show all of it quite well… it’s a painted roof, not vinyl. Lastly, I have never seen a Nova with a vinyl top and no drip rail stainless trim.
Apparently granny wanted to scramble the eggs before she got back from the grocery store!
I would love to see granny do a smokey burnout and grab a couple gears with this baby!! Not real crazy about the color but it’s got all the right parts in all the right places!!!
Ya could happen. Granny’s are getting younger and younger this days 👧
Did everyone miss the “1970 year ” as the Ebay ad stated 1972???🤣
Not really no big difference with a 250 6 😐
Looked up the vin # on the Paddock web site, it shows it is a 1970, sixth number is the year, which is a zero. I wonder why they had it listed as a 72? on Ebay? ell as in everything, check it out closely if you buy it. Or call the sellers, they did list their phone number. i live an hour south of Lynchburg where it is located.
Well this one gives me a scratch where I’m itchin’
I would clean all the rust off of the car and repaint it. There is no such thing as patina rust is rust no matter how you look at it. This would be fun to drive jamming gears through that muncie 4 speed manual transmission.
I’m surprised no one mentioned the hideous aluminum trim on the bottom of this car. What are they really hiding? All that trim should have been the first to go. Obviously the eBay ad has ended and shows a $1.00 bid. $18,000 seems like a reach to me!
I can’t believe bidding is over 18k for this nova…its nice and I’m sure real fun to drive, but 18k I must realy be missing something
I’m with you on this one.
Wonder what ‘granny’ towed with an original 250 6 cylinder? The groceries? Little bit sketchy to me.
It could have been added later for “effect” or more likely, they towed a small Jon boat or a small trailer for hauling mulch or something.
Well we had a ’62 Nova with the 194 six cylinder and three on the tree and it pulled our pop up camper without any issues
The car still appears to have its 6 cyl monoleaf leaf springs on back! Can they handle a big block, 4 speed & 12 bolt? lol
I would imagine the front coils were changed. Big block is considerably heavier than the 250.
Would exh pipes strait out the back UNDER the axle(like on modern pony cars) give a performance gain? I would guess exhaust would be even louder.
There are still monoleaf’s available from places like Summit, Jegs, restoration parts folks, etc. There are different opinions as to what came stock, mono or multi leaf. This car has some seriously undersized tires, it wouldn’t take much to light them up. Traction bars, Cal-Tracks would be a definite improvement. As far as the exhaust under the axle… NO! Virtually every time you accelerate, they will hit the axle housing. Or, they will hit the ground. I’m not sure what modern muscle cars you are talking about under the axle. If the cars you are suggesting have independent rear suspension (IRS) you can run under the axles, IF they are as close to the center section as possible.
Nova SS models of this vintage, whether 350 or 396, came with multi leaf rear springs and staggered shocks to control axle tramp. Agreed on the under axle exhaust… l don’t know of any car that runs exhaust pipes under the axle, independent suspension or not.
Yep nice but with the low stance and the small caps it a sure bet it isn’t stock.
I like it!
In the middle 1970’s a local Chevy dealer had a Nova, bronze with beige vinyl top and interior, 396, automatic, looked just like a grocery getter. Only a few years old and just about perfect. I wonder why the salesman wouldn’t let 18 year old me take it for a test drive.
If you want to see a real granny car go to YouTube burr ridge car show 1970 Nova, all origina, 44,000 miles, sat in a garage for 25 years. End of year production, being built as a V-8 with 307, air-conditioning, & tainted glass, Vin on firewall stamped as a V-8, tag on dash marked 6-cyl. Featured in Collectible Automobile Magazine Oct, 2010
Take the 396 badges off, and any other hints its a sleeper and “GO HUNTIN”